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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22548919">Beneath the Sky, Above the Water</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko'>Akiko_Natsuko</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Femslash Fairies 2020 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fairy Tail</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Curses, F/F, Fairy Tale Elements, Falling In Love, Promises, Sacrifice</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 15:42:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,651</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22548919</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Erza had been cursed as a child, fated to drift unbound by gravity unless a solution could be found. Water helped, kept her from drifting to the ends of the earth, although there where times when she wondered if it would be easier, as she watched and waited, as people failed to break the curse. Then a Princess 'rescued' her one day, and suddenly drifting was no longer as appealing as it had once been.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Erza Scarlet/Mirajane Strauss</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Femslash Fairies 2020 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1637743</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Femslash Fairies 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Beneath the Sky, Above the Water</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Please note that if you want to talk to me about my fics and writing, or anime/shows/games in general then you can now find me on discord  <a href="https://discord.gg/6sSddAWa5c">The Unholy Trinity</a>.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>I could be free up here.</em>
</p><p>   Erza would never admit so much within her parent’s hearing, or where the courtiers and wise men and women that had been summoned to heal her could here. But there was a freedom in her weightlessness, and there had been some days when she had considered closing her eyes and letting the wind carry her wherever it willed. Perhaps, the solution to her curse lay at the end of those winds. More likely, she would be adrift until the winds chose to drop her back to her earth, but at least she would be away from the constant pressure of finding a way to fix her. The demands that she focuses on the seriousness of the situation, and how it affected not only her and her eventual ascension to the throne but her family and the whole kingdom.</p><p>    It wasn’t that she didn’t care, or at least she thought she cared as much as she could. It was just that such matters, which seemed so vast and overwhelming from the ground, paled in size and significance when the wind caught her and lifted her up. The rest of the world called it a curse, muttering her aunt’s name with dark expressions and even more ominous words, but deep-down Erza was almost grateful for what had been done to her.</p><p>    She didn’t spend all her time aloft, although the slightest disturbance could see her rising from the ground, but the only place where she felt just as at home and far more grounded was when she was swimming. There were a series of pools and water gardens around the palace, and from a young age she had loved them, and it had been there that they had discovered that in the water she would regain her gravity for a time. Her lessons – the history of the kingdom, etiquette and more – were all carried out with her submerged in her favourite pool beneath the balcony of her room, and when she was inevitably dragged down for a serious conversation about the curse and the future, it was the water that kept her on earth long enough to hear their words.</p><p>    It had been Porlyusica, the court healer, who had first suggested that water itself might be the way to break the curse, pointing out that Erza had never once shed a tear since the curse had been applied. And that maybe if they could find a way to bring her tears, the curse would be broken.</p><p>    Over the years, there had been numerous attempts to make her cry. However, for all the efforts – from forbidding her from swimming for over a month to allowing her to drift in the air until she’d crashed into something, ending up covered in cuts and bruises, and worse – not so much as a single tear had trickled down her cheeks. Sometimes, she wondered if she was too broken if the air had carried that away from her as well. It hurt; a loneliness that settled deep within her heart, masked by a smile and a pretence that she was as light-hearted as the wind that would one day carry her away.</p><p>*</p><p>    In fact, she had long since given up all hope of ever being ‘cured’ or being able to ascend the throne as her parents wanted, the summer that she first met Her. Erza had fled the palace grounds, for once unable to keep pretending that she didn’t care, and she had allowed the wind to carry her out into trees and down to the lake where her father had once spent afternoons fishing as she swam. It was peaceful here, and although she knew that she would get an earful for it later, she couldn’t bring herself to care as she dove into the cold waters, as graceful amongst the lilies and ripples as she was in the sky.</p><p>    The first she knew of not being alone was when there was an almighty splash nearby, and she faltered, turning towards the sound just in time to catch a glimpse of blue eyes, as bright and shining as the summer sky up above the trees, and hair the same colour as freshly fallen snow. Then there were arms around her, and too startled by the sudden development, she didn’t fight as she was drawn to the edge of the lake and up onto land. However, as soon as the water released her and her would-be rescuer’s grip loosened, she began to drift, rising in the air.</p><p>“What are you doing?” She demanded, twisting to face them, breath catching as she found herself gazing at a beautiful woman, who was staring up at her as though she was the answer to all their questions. It was a look that she’d never had directed at her before, because how could anyone fall in love with a princess who might drift away without warning? She could feel herself blushing under the intense stare, and she glanced away, folding her arms. “Please, put me back in the water before I drift too far…” It wasn’t quite a plea, but close, because for once she wasn’t consumed by the desire to just float away until the winds abandoned her.</p><p>    Perhaps, it was the pleading tone, or maybe it was the words, but the other woman jolted forward and reached up to catch her hand. It was warm and soft, the grip firm but not painful and Erza couldn’t remember the last time someone had held her like that, the moment stretching out as she found herself anchored by something more than water for once. Finally, the other woman sighed and drew her back down, walking backwards, seemingly uncaring of the fact that she was already soaked as she pulled Erza back into the water, the air reluctantly releasing its grip on her. With the reassuring press of the water against her skin, Erza pulled away, retreating further into the lake, when the other woman called out after her.</p><p>“Wait, who are you?” Erza faltered at that because few in the Kingdom didn’t know about the ‘cursed princess’, but there was no hint of a lie in the blue eyes fixed on her, and she hesitated for a moment, before replying.</p><p>“Erza…”</p><p>Not a Princess, not cursed…just Erza.</p><p>
  <strong>*</strong>
</p><p>Despite the scolding she had received, the next day found Erza going down to the lake again, telling herself it was the water she wanted, but unable to shift the memory of that warm touch and the eyes that had stared at her in wonder.</p><p>    She wasn’t sure how long she’d spent in the water, not swimming so much as drifting on the surface of the water, unable to find the usual sense of freedom, when someone cleared their throat. Heart hammering in her chest, she twisted around to see the woman stood on the shore, watching her with the same entranced look as the day before, and this time Erza smiled at her.</p><p>*</p><p>   It transpired that Mirajane Strauss, the Eldest Princess and heir to the throne of Seven which bordered the Kingdom of Fiore to the North East had been journeying in search of a wife when she had stumbled across Erza whom she had through was ‘drowning’. After that day, though, she seemed to have given up all thoughts of moving on, and day after day passed with the two of them by the lake. Sometimes, Mira as she had insisted Erza call her would join her in the water, and they would while away the hours chasing each other through the lilies, or drifting hand in hand on the surface. Other days, Mira would sit on the shore, and they would talk. Mira told her about her siblings and the fact that no one she had met had ever caught her eye until Erza – which would leave the cursed princess flustered and unsure of how to respond, and how she still wanted to see more of the world. And that she would show it to Erza if she would allow it.</p><p>    In return, Erza told her haltingly about the curse. About the freedom of the air and winds, the days that she dreamt of just letting it carry her away, and how the only thing that could keep her grounded was the water. For once, the joy she usually felt in the water had bled away, and she ached for something more, especially when she saw the troubled expression on Mira’s face. The dawning realisation that the dreams she had spoken about so freely, could never come true until Erza was free of the sky and water. Yet, when pressed for an answer on how the curse could be removed, Erza was quiet, unable to tell the beautiful, smiling woman that she needed to make her cry to stand a chance of removing the curse.</p><p>   She’d half expected Mira to abandon her then, and she wouldn’t have blamed her. For who could love a cursed Princess? But the other woman didn’t leave. Instead, she kissed Erza for the first time that day, both up to their waist in the water. It had been soft and tender and full of promise. As was her voice, as she vowed that she would find a way to break the curse and that until that day, she wouldn’t leave, neither of them aware of the eyes watching them from the shelter of the trees lining the lake. Fury darkening them until they were almost black.</p><p>*</p><p>   Eileen Belsarion was fuming. The curse on her niece had not just been revenge for having been kept away from the christening celebrations, but in the hope that one day the throne would fall to her. After all, there was no way a girl who could drift away without warning could ever be Queen, and until recently, it had seemed as though her plan would work. Her sister Irene hadn’t had any more children, perhaps out of fear of what she might do to them, and she heard the whispers throughout the kingdom, the doubts about the future, and so she had contented herself with watching and waiting until the inevitable came.</p><p>   But, recently there had been whispers that Erza was spending all her time with the Princess of another land, someone who didn’t care about the curse and seemed intent on grounding her niece. At first, she hadn’t paid it much mind, because what did it matter if the girl tasted a drop of happiness, reality would inevitably strip that from her.</p><p>   However, the rumours persisted, and when she spied on her niece, she could see the happiness and hope in her eyes. Which had brought her here to the lake in the woods, watching as all her plans and her revenge, was threatened by a kiss and promise that could shake the world.</p><p>    She couldn’t allow that to happen, and so she waited until they parted ways for the night. Then under cover of darkness, she worked an even greater curse on her niece. Beneath the protection of the trees, and the damning light of the stars she cast a net of magic across the lake, slowly draining the water away, letting it sink away into the earth through a hole as deep and dark as the twisted thing she called a heart. However, she didn’t stop there, her magic spreading across Fiore, banishing all springs and ponds, drying out of the rives and halting even the rain. Not even the tears of the people who woke the next morning to find the world so changed, were able to fall.</p><p>The water was gone.</p><p> *</p><p>    Erza had thought that she would break there and then, as the one thing that could keep her tied to the Earth and to Mira was stolen from her. Her heart ached, and her eyes burned as she watched the waters grow lower and lower, but there were no tears. And not even Mira’s soothing words, and promises, and gentle touches that lingered as she tried to keep Erza anchored could combat the grief and fear.</p><p>    Mages from across the land were called in to solve the disaster, and one and all failed to bring the waters back. In the end, it was a water mage, who discovered that the only way to stop the rest of the lake from draining away and to bring back the rest of the water, was for someone to block the hole. It would save the country, it would give Erza the waters that she needed to remain grounded, and it would claim the life of whoever volunteered to break the curse.</p><p>   Mira stepped forward without hesitation, with nothing but a plea that Erza remain with her to the end so that they could make the most of their time together.</p><p>*</p><p>    Before the eyes of the Kingdom, Mira blocks the hole with her body, Erza in the water nearby. The words they exchanged, too soft for their audience to hear as the waters slowly started to fill up…a drop of raining falling, and then another and another, until it is cascading down on them. Erza had always loved the water, but right then she hated it, but even when she pleaded with Mira to move and give up on this, that they could find another way, the other woman only smiled and reached for her hands. “I promised to free you. If I can’t do that, then at least I can give you this,” she murmured, kissing Erza’s hand as the waters rose above her head, pulling her under.</p><p>    There was a pause, the world holding its breath, and then like a rumbling crack of thunder that was felt rather than heard, the net of magic broke. The newer curse shattering, as around the lake and across the kingdom people began to weep with relief.</p><p>    At the lake, Erza didn’t weep or laugh, as she frantically dove beneath the waters, searching through the unusually restless waters until her fingers closed on the drifting figure of the woman she had come to live. With a strength borne of desperate, she hauled Mira to the surface, before towing her across to the shore where Porlyusica was waiting, pleading as she had never pleaded before, for the woman to save Mira, no matter the cost.</p><p>    It was a long, seemingly never-ending night as they fought to save Mira, and several times it seemed as though she would slip away from them. Through it all, Erza hoped and prayed, and cared in a way that she never had before, unaware of how Porlyusica and all those that checked in on them through the night stared at her. Finally, seeing as more than the cursed princess. It was past dawn, when those hopes and prayers were answered, as Mira stirred on the bed. Still exhausted and weak, but immediately seeking out Erza, a smile that could have lit a thousand rooms despite its weariness pulling at her lips.</p><p>“You came back to me,” Erza whispered, frozen in place as they stared at one another, her eyes beginning to burn as Mira’s smile grew, and turned soft and tender.</p><p>“I promised that I would find a way to break your curse,” Mira whispered, voice hoarse but fierce. “I couldn’t do that if I left you now, could I?” Something shifted and clicked into place in Erza’s chest at that moment, and the burning intensified as she moved forward, intending to answer or scold Mira for taking such a risk when she found herself falling forward. The air no longer reaching out to catch her as she crumpled to her knees, and it was only when she heard matching gasps from the healer and Mira, that she lifted trembling hands to her cheeks where tears were coursing down her skin, splashing against her palm as the curse shattered.</p>
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